Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are Launching on November 18th

Back in March we got the word about the next big entry in the core RPG thread of the Pokemon franchise, Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

Nintendo has their marketing strategy pretty well dialed after so many years of selling what is essentially the same game over and over.  They know us well and we respond to their messaging.

This time around the next drip in the informational build up to the launch got us a date.  November 18th is when the game will arrive.

November 18th is the day

Not that November was a huge surprise.  Getting things tee’d up and into the retail channel before Thanksgiving is a pretty common strategy, and one they have played repeatedly in the past.  That ensures everybody will have time to grab a copy to play over the holidays, or time to put it on their list so parents and grandparents can have a copy for whichever present exchanging event the winter holds for them.

In addition to the date, we also got an introduction into what our characters will start out like and the professors we will run into, because each version has their own professor this time around.

Professors Sada and Turo

Pokemon Scarlet will have you working with Professor Sada, while Professor Turo will be guiding your journey in Pokemon Violet.  Let the cosplay and erotic fan fiction begin!

And then, of course, we got to see some more of the special Pokemon that the titles will introduce.  We got to see the two legendary Pokemon, Koriadon and Miriodon, but they didn’t seem to generate much excitement.  I mean, we all love the legendaries, but they do tend to be a bit overwrought at times.  They aren’t the kind of Pokemon who inspire devotion.  Instead, three of the Pokemon to be found in the new game seemed to be generating excitement.

Pawmi, Lechonk, and Smoliv

Pawmi had some immediate fans, and I have already seen some Smoliv memes, but Lechonk seemed to be the star of the show.  That name alone is a winner and some were declaring that Lechonk was the one Pokemon you were never allowed to rename.

There was also some news about the world of the Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet.  They are attempting to make the whole adventure more of an open world experience, rather than the strictly gated progression that has been a hallmark of the series for most of its life.  They want players to be able to run around and explore.  We shall see how that plays out.

What we know for sure so far is over on the official Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet site, but there is a lot of speculation and wishcasting going on in the community… as there always is when we know so little.